Imagine. Create. Execute.
Every great society leaves a meaningful cultural legacy. The people of Dane County, Wisconsin have remarkable gifts to share with the world. Arts, culture, and local history express our common humanity. The Dane County Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission within Dane County Government supports these beliefs through its Dane Arts projects and programs.
Behind Creative: A Dane Arts Series
Behind Creative is an artist profile series
produced by Dane Arts with award-winning filmmaker Wendy Schneider.
Each episode features an artist in Dane County sharing the process and inspiration that is integral to their work.
Watching Behind Creative, we learn about beat makers cultivating their craft and networks, choreographers tapping into the healing spirit of life through movement, poets on the rise in America, Hip Hop activists, master costume designers, and more.
This new series invites you to listen, watch, and participate in the creative landscape of local artists in Dane County.
Dane Arts 2024 Cycle 1 Grant Awards
Sixty-five project, five Short Order, and four Capital requests totaling $115,197 were recently awarded in cycle 1 for “Dane Arts” grants in 2024. Organizations requested over $287,000 in support.
Recordings of the grant review meetings are now available online here.
The next grant deadline is August 1, 2024 (4 PM). Learn more about available grants here.
Dane Arts 2024 Poster: Lesley Anne Numbers
Dane Arts is thrilled to announce the 2024 poster, Give and Receive, by Madison-based artist, Lesley Anne Numbers.
Enchantingly vibrant, Numbers' woodblock prints evoke the preciousness and joy of nature. Click here to read Lesley Numbers statement. Also listed are outlets near you to pick up your very own print of this beautiful artwork!
Lesley Numbers is also featured in our 2024 Calendar. Learn more here.
Arts & Economic Prosperity VI
In October 2023, in partnership with Americans for the Arts and Wisconsin Arts Board, Dane Arts released the findings of a comprehensive arts and economic impact study (AEP VI).
Industry expenditures for FY22 (organizations and audiences) show that nearly $350m goes right back into the local economy through arts and culture.
Those are 350 million reasons there must be greater support for artists and arts organizations - the arts keep the spiritual vitality of our community strong…and generate an enormous return on that investment. Money that stays in Dane County, benefits Dane County.
Dane Arts collected 939 Arts and Economic Prosperity surveys from May 2022 to May 2023! Learn more about AEP VI.
Dane Arts 2024 Calendar
Enjoy the beauty of Dane County all year long with the Dane Arts 2024 Calendar!
This year's artists express the eclectic beauty of Dane County through printmaking, painting, photographic processes, handmade paper, digital drawing, pastel, and porcupine quillwork and beadwork. Each of our featured artists reside in Dane County and include: Lesley Anne Numbers, Xizhou Xie, Marleah Grinnell, Karen Nell McKean, Green Goodies (GG), Henry Obeng, Linda Massey, Aileen Musa, Poornima Moorthy, Rebecca Brockman-Schneider, Paige Skenandore, and Issis Macias. Learn more about this year's featured artists here.
Dane Arts Newsletter
Community Resource
Dane Arts staff, along with Commission members, offer technical assistance, support, and advocacy countywide. Community service includes: initiating artistic projects, serving as an arts & culture resource hub, and inspiring meaningful connections between artists, presenters, and the community.
Impact
- Honoring and celebrating the Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission's community service spanning nearly five (5) decades, 2027.
- Brilliant artwork created by over 100 local individual artists showcased in annual art posters and calendars, of which, hundreds of thousands are distributed near and far.
- Over 80 community murals and 50 storm drain designs created by Dane Arts Mural Arts (DAMA), a community arts effort which was started in 2014 out of this office and is now its own non- profit in partnership with Dane Arts.
- Since 2015, Dane Arts Buy Local Art Market (DABL) has been exhibiting and selling the work of local visual artists in a festive atmosphere with over $250,000 in art sold to date.
- Artists in Residence program started in 2020
- Distributed $1.25 million in support to 400 artists in 2020 and 2021
- Initiated Forward Madison Game Day Posters in 2019 with nearly 75 artists paid for their creations
- Over 100 local citizens provided service as Commission members and Grant Advisory Panel Members.
- Arts, Culture & Local History Grants (2007-2024): over 2400 awards totaling over $10.2 million (public & private sources) leveraging nearly $68.2 million from other community sources.
Support Our Community
Learn more about our mission and support.